Story of a Guard
by Darksroid17
Summary: A tale told by one of Celestia's royal guard after the changeling queen, Chrysalis, had launched a surprise attack at Canterlot castle. One-shot.
**Story of a Guard**

 **A/N: My first language is not English, and I apologize for any misspelled words or grammar errors. Any constructive criticism will be happily accepted. Without further ado, enjoy the story and have a great day! Please don't forget to review!**

You want me to tell you how it all happened? Fine, but bring me some cider first.

Thanks.

It was several moons ago, back when life was peaceful and everything had its own unique balance. I was trotting once again to the Canterlot castle for my night shift, where I would meet my friend, Featherdrop.

He was the kind of stallion that would brighten your day with his smile...

"Thunderhoof! It's good to see you again!" We were in the locker room with the other guards, all of us chatting before starting our nightly work.

"You make it sound as if I didn't see you every night." I said.

"I think other ponies will get the wrong idea if they heard you say that." Featherdrop added to my comment. We shared our signature hoof bumps before I realized what he meant. I burst out laughing when it sinked in.

After getting ready we began our shift and patrolled the castle. We checked everywhere! The kitchen, the halls, the throne room, the guest rooms... if there was any, and I repeat, _any_ pony, we would of caught that intruder. Unfortunately, we didn't see any intruder until it was too late.

What happened next, you ask? I was just getting to that.

After some hours, we heard a cry nearby... a cry of pain. We perked up then ran towards the fading noise as fast as our hooves could take us. You know what we found when we arrived? A changeling... and one of our guards bleeding on the floor from his left side. Featherdrop and I knew better than to expect just one changeling- they always come in packs!

Curse those insects! Who know what they could of done to the-

NO! I'm not crying. I'm just feeling... lonely.

Where was I? Oh, right!

Featherdrop and I quickly engaged the changeling intruder. That nasty little insect had to pay for what he had done, so I wasted no time and charged at it! The damn creature took advantage of the close-combat and quickly used his shape-shifting abilities to transform into me. After sharing a few hits we stopped and performed the most cliche moment in all history.

"What are you waiting for? Get him!"

"Don't trust him! I'm the real one!"

Luckily, my friend had it all under control. "Quick! What's our signature team attack?"

I got confused at the sudden question, and asked. "What signature team attack?"

He took that chance to swiftly approach the fake me and knock it out with a single hit. "Exactly." He added after knocking out the changeling.

What?

There were other easier ways to identify the fake one?

Yeah, I know there are, but in a desperate situation you have to act fast.

Let me continue...

Before I knew it, we were battling against an ambush of 'em inside the castle! All of us united as one group to make an impenetrable wall against them. We kept trying to push them back, but their numbers exceeded ours and it was too much to handle. That is, until reinforcements arrived, which didn't took so long. Now that we had significantly higher numbers, we started to push back the enemy forces with less effort than before.

After several agonizing minutes, that felt like an eternity to me, we managed to make the changelings leave the castle, and now we were battling outside near the entrance... and that's when it happened.

We heard a loud explosion that came from above, where Princess Celestia's private chamber was located. Dust and debris fell upon us and the changelings, but we moved out of the way before it could hit us. From inside the smoke, and the new hole that the explosion created, came out the two alicorn sisters; Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, along with the changeling queen, Chrysalis.

Both sisters engaged in a magical battle with Chrysalis. It was noticeable that the princess' had the upper hoof against the changeling queen, but that advantage was soon broken when _he_ arrived.

Yes, by " _he_ ", I mean the tyrant, King Sombra.

How did it all end? Bring me some more cider and I'll finish the rest.

Thank you. Now to continue...

The scenario changed in a blink of an eye! Now it was two against two. The alicorn princess' against the King and Queen; an ultimate battle. By the time this was happening, both ponies and changelings had stop their fight and witnessed history.

If they were floating above us? Yes! Way above us!

Anyway...

They exchanged deadly stares and a long lasting silence, none of them wasting a simple instant to blink. Suddenly, they charged at each other with all they had. The battle had begun! Princess Celestia fought King Sombra while Princess Luna took on Chrysalis.

Since the battle between our leaders started, then so did ours. We resumed our fight against the changeling invaders, with Featherdrop covering my back like always, and the rest of the troops with us; we had a chance to win this, there was no denying that.

While still battling the changelings, there were moments when we all had to move out of the way or risk getting hit by a magical projectile that missed its target. Thought, it was also bothersome when the magic shot actually hit; all of us cringed when that happened. The sound it made and the scream of pain really carved itself in my memory...

Eventually, the fight between our leaders came to stop, and so did we. Noticing that both sides were exhausted and damaged from previous attacks wasn't difficult, but we were not going to give up that easily. I think that was the reason why Sombra opened his mouth and spit out a few comments to Princess Celestia; though, I can't remember them very well.

I can recall a small bit, however... he said something about the "Elements of Harmony", and another thing about getting "rid" of them, or so I think that's what he mentioned. Whatever the case, it managed to give quite a shocking effect on Princess Celestia. Her features had suddenly changed from fearless to depressed, but it didn't last long. She came back to her senses... and this time she was determined to beat the heck out of Sombra.

Seconds later the battle continued, but this time their side had to deal with a raging sun princess. What we saw left us amazed, yet scared at the same time. Remember those rumors about Celestia's mane becoming flames when she's very mad? Well, turns out they're actually true! Princess Celestia was on fire, literally, and all that anger was aimed at Sombra. What could he had said...?

As the fight went on I noticed something was strange. Sombra still had his evil grin even after Celestia went full berserk on his flank. He was waiting for something, and in the meantime dodged the incoming attacks from Celestia effectively. That's when I realized it; he was patiently waiting for an opening! Sadly, it was too late... he had already found one before I could shout a warning.

Sombra took advantage of the moment and quickly gave Celestia a hard, well-aimed hoof to her face. The hit staggered the princess and sent her back a few hooves away; he also took the chance to shoot a magic blast at Luna, who was distracted by Chrysalis. The Princess of the Night received the agonizing hit and was sent crashing to the castle's wall, and, eventually, falling to the ground next to us.

I have to tell you. She is one tough alicorn! Even after taking that, she still managed to get up. Slowly.

Now, with the battle on their side, our troops started to lose hope, myself included. Our leaders were getting their flanks kicked and we were very tired from all the fighting. Not to mention that the Elements of Harmony appeared to be unavailable for us at the moment. This sure was one heck of a situation for us.

Can you bring me some more cider? I'm all out.

I can't thank you enough!

Back to the story...

Princess Celestia descended to regroup with her sister after realizing what happened to her. She helped her younger sister stand up correctly when she struggled to get up, while talking to her with her motherly tone. My eyes went wide when I saw what was the problem- Luna had a broken hoof. It was truly a sad thing to watch...

That made us give up on our fight. We had no more hope... there was no way we could win now. Despite this, the princess' didn't give up yet. They stood firm against our foes and began using their magic in unison.

 _'Perhaps this is some sort of combination attack?'_ I thought to myself.

I was wrong.

They used the power they had left to cover all of us in their magic. With that done, they "activated" their spell and the last thing I saw was a blinding light. When I awoke, I was here... in the Crystal Empire.

I assume the spell sent us all to random places of Equestria, since all I've seen has been a very few of the Guards who were fighting alongside me, and no sign of Featherdrop. Still, the princess' sacrificed themselves to save us. Now that's stuck in my memory, hunting me day and night...

I was saved by the sisters and I still can't do anything to return the favor. I feel like trash, to be honest, since I gave up so easily back then.

Hmm? No... there's no need for pity or anything.

I'm fine.

At least I know that we'll get them back. I'm gonna join Princess Cadence and Captain Shining Armor's group called _The Order_. Their mission is to search and locate the Element bearers that are missing.

They are our last hope...

 **END**


End file.
